Smooth
by DrawnToTheRhythm
Summary: Sam brings Pete on a team night out (SJ) AN: I've had so much trouble with this story but hopefully it's sorted now.
1. Default Chapter

Author: DrawnToTheRhythm Pairing: Sam/Jack, Sam/Other Spoilers: Chimera Rating: PG (just in case!) Disclaimer: Stargate and the characters don't belong to me, please don't sue! The songs are 'Harder To Breathe' by Maroon 5 and 'Smooth' by Santana & Rob Thomas and they own their songs.  
  
Smooth  
  
"Hey guys, you coming to O'Malley's tonight? I hear they've got a salsa night on. Pete's taking me and Daniel's taking Janet so we just wondered if you'd like to come along?"  
  
The Colonel looked a little uneasy.  
  
"Um, I think I'll take a rain check if it's all the same to you. I don't really feel like going out tonight.", he said with as much nonchalance as he could muster. Truth be told he'd rather poke his eyes out with a spoon than be forced to sit and watch some guy make goo goo eyes at the woman he loved, knowing that she would be doing the same.  
  
"Oh come on, Sir, it'll be a blast! Just the six of us having a non-work related night out. Teal'c's coming too I'll bet, right?" Teal'c bowed his head slightly.  
  
"Indeed, Major Carter. I am intrigued as to the nature of this 'shindig' as Daniel Jackson called it." Jack was forced into a corner. If he said yes then he'd have to spend all night with Sam and her significant other across the table and everyone else giving him sympathetic glances. If he refused, however, he'd have to face a disappointed Major in the morning. He decided to go the hard way.  
  
"OK, sure, why not? I could do with a drink after today anyway." Sam beamed.  
  
"Great! OK, well, I'll see you guys later. 7.30 pm sharp." And with that she bounced off down the corridor leaving an annoyed Colonel and a slightly amused Jaffa in her wake.  
  
"O'Neill, you do not seem pleased at having to attend this event." The Colonel growled slightly.  
  
"No, I'm not T, and you damn well know the reason why so don't even say it!"  
  
"O'Neill..." The Colonel went red. Stomping off toward his office, he paused when he heard his name.  
  
"I was just merely going to inform you that the elevator is in that direction." He said as he pointed in the opposite direction to that which O'Neill was now moving in. Jack spun on his heels and stormed past Teal'c.  
  
"Don't. Just ... don't!" Once Jack was out of sight, Teal'c chuckled to himself and headed off toward his own quarters.  
  
O'Malley's bar & grill.  
  
They had been there for over an hour and Jack was only on his second beer. He'd been forced to make small talk with "Pete" whilst Sam was discussing the finer points of something with Janet. Every so often she would place her hand on top of Pete's and caress it with her long, slender fingers... Jack *really* needed to stop thinking about such things, especially when it wasn't even his hand she was touching. Suddenly Pete stood up and offered Sam his hand.  
  
"Care to dance, m'lady?" he cooed in a sickly sweet voice. Man, how that guy grated! Sam blushed and accepted and soon they were making their way over to the dancefloor.  
  
How dare you say that my behavior is unacceptable  
  
So condescending unnecessarily critical  
  
I have the tendency of getting very physical  
  
So watch your step cause if I do you'll need a miracle  
  
The song grabbed Jack's attention as he sat and stared at the beautiful woman who was currently dancing very closely in the arms of another man.  
  
When it gets cold outside and you got nobody to love  
  
You'll understand what I mean when I say  
  
There's no way we're gonna give up  
  
And like a little girl cries in the face of a monster that lives in her dreams  
  
Is there anyone out there cause it's getting harder and harder to breathe  
  
Is there anyone out there cause it's getting harder and harder to breathe  
  
Yeah, it was. Jack figured that if he didn't take his eyes off them he'd snap. What in the hell had possessed him to come? He knew that it would be hard, he just didn't know quite how hard it would be to watch them together. When the song ended after what seemed like an eternity, Sam sat back down at the table and took a sip of her soda. Her eyes met the Colonel's for a brief moment and she looked away and blushed.  
  
*Well that was interesting* thought O'Neill to himself as he raised an eyebrow in response. Suddenly he began to change his mind about Pete. Up until that point it had seemed that he was a 'keeper', serious enough for Sam to introduce him to her friends anyway, but now he was not so sure. Jack had been preparing himself to have his heart crushed the day that she turned to him and told him, in no uncertain terms, that what they had once had was no more. But that day was not today it seemed. At that moment he was desperate to know what she was thinking. Could she really consider choosing him over Pete? Even though part of his brain was screaming at him to wake up and smell the new guy in Sam's life, he decided to find out.  
  
"Care to dance, Major?" He turned towards her and held out his hand. At once Daniel and Janet halted their conversation and just started incredulously at Jack. Had he really just asked Sam to dance with him?!? Meanwhile, Carter paused mid-sentence and stared for a second before turning to Pete to silently ask him for permission. Ever the gentleman, Jack got there first.  
  
"Pete, you don't mind if I tear her away for a dance, do you?" He gave his best "friendly" smile and Pete couldn't exactly refuse even if he had wanted to (which he didn't anyway).  
  
"No, problem, Jack. Sure, honey, go ahead. Teal'c was just telling me about his old boss. Sounds like a real nice guy!"  
  
*I'll bet!* thought Jack sarcastically but remained silent as he led Sam to the dance floor. As the song began, O'Neill pulled a shocked Carter closer to him.  
  
Man it's a hot one  
  
Like seven inches from the midday sun  
  
Carter slowly began to swing her hips in time to the beat as O'Neill mimicked her movements.  
  
I hear you whisper and the words melt everyone  
  
But you stay so cool  
  
My mu equita my spanish harlem mona lisa  
  
Your my reason for reason  
  
The step in my groove  
  
O'Neill was mesmerized as the music seemed to take Sam over as she gathered momentum and began to sway  
  
And if you say this life ain't good enough  
  
I would give my world to lift you up  
  
I could change my life to better suit your mood  
  
Cause you're so smooth  
  
And just like the ocean under the moon  
  
Well that's the same emotion that I get from you  
  
You got the kind of lovin that can be so smooth  
  
Gimme your heart make it real  
  
Or else forget about it  
  
I'll tell you one thing  
  
If you would leave it would be a crying shame  
  
In every breath and every word I hear your name calling me out  
  
Out from the barrio you hear my rhythm from your radio  
  
You feel the turning of the world so soft and slow  
  
Turning you round and round  
  
And if you say this life ain't good enough  
  
I would give my world to lift you up  
  
I could change my life to better suit your mood  
  
Cause you're so smooth  
  
By this point they seemed to have forgotten about everyone else in the room as they moved in perfect sync. Suddenly O'Neill grabbed Carter's wrist and pulled her to him so that they were separated by mere millimeters. She looked up into his eyes, momentarily stunned by his actions and they stared at each other intently. Sam knew what she had to do.  
  
She pulled his hands up and placed them palm to palm with hers as she silently counted the steps in her head. They began to do the cha cha backwards and forwards, her leading the whole time, turning her head towards and away from him on the beat.  
  
And just like the ocean under the moon  
  
Well that's the same emotion that I get from you  
  
You got the kind of lovin that can be so smooth  
  
Gimme your heart make it real  
  
Or else forget about it  
  
Suddenly O'Neill let go of one hand and sent her spinning away from him only to pull her back moments later. Sam was now pressed into him with her back to him as she began grinding her hips against his slowly sliding up and down as she did so. O'Neill threw his head back and once again twirled her away from him, just slightly this time, twisting her round and round  
  
And just like the ocean under the moon  
  
Well that's the same emotion that I get from you  
  
You got the kind of lovin that can be so smooth  
  
This time they cha-cha'd together, their hips extremely close together slightly side on from each other and Sam's hands were attached to his on either side of her hips  
  
Gimme your heart make it real  
  
Or else forget about it  
  
On the last line of the song, O'Neill placed one hand behind Sam's neck and the other on the small of her back and twisted her around and bent her backwards, completely supporting her weight as he leaned over her, her left leg hooked against his hip and his face millimeters from hers. They stayed in that position for a few seconds both breathing heavily from their movements until a cough from behind them broke their daze.  
  
Suddenly realizing where they were and who was watching, they snapped up straight, Sam smoothing her dress down and O'Neill taking a huge step back and staring at the floor. Pete, having watched the whole thing unfold in front of his eyes, slowly got up and walked out of the door. After a few seconds, Sam took off after him while Jack was forced to sit back down and face the shocked and slightly amused stares of their three other companions.  
  
"Pete! Wait!" Sam shouted across the car park at his retreating figure. He ignored her. She caught up with him, grabbed his arm and spun him round to face her.  
  
"Pete, I can explain-"  
  
She searched his eyes for anger, sorrow, jealousy, anything but, to her surprise, all she saw was vague sense of loss and sympathy.  
  
"No, Sam, please don't. There's no need. I'm not right for you, I've known that ever since I saw you two together. You don't love me, Sam, I know that. I've known ever since I saw the way you looked at Jack that day." Sam stuttered.  
  
"But Pete, ... he's my CO, I never..." He silenced her with his finger.  
  
"I know. I may not have known you for very long but I DO know that you'd never put your career on the line for something so ...sentimental. Nevertheless, he has something I could never have. Jack has your heart and, from what I've seen, you have his." He kissed her on the cheek. "Goodbye, Sam." With that he walked off into the night.  
  
"What did I do to deserve him?" Sam asked herself quietly before shaking her head and going back into the bar to face the music. 


	2. Chapter 2

OK, by popular demand I've written a sequel. A/N: I've been trying not to make Pete into the bad guy since I never wanted to hate him in the first place. I can't, however, change the canon so if from now on Pete becomes the not-so-good-guy, don't blame me. It was all the writers' fault.  
  
Inside the bar, there was an uncomfortable silence around the table. Three pairs of eyes were all locked on Jack as he squirmed and stared at the floor. Daniel was the first one to speak.  
  
" So ... the music in here's good tonight, isn't it?" Jack thanked the gods for the change of subject.  
  
" Oh, yeah. It's not usually my style but ..."  
  
"... you don't tend to notice the music when you're dancing that close with your beautiful 2IC." Janet remarked with a slight smirk. Jack's head shot up.  
  
"Major." he growled in a warning tone but she smiled innocently.  
  
"What? I was just stating the obvious. Sir." she added as his death glare pointed in her direction. She quickly went back to sipping her drink in silence. Just then, Sam came through the door. Alone. She slowly made her way towards the table and slipped into her seat next to Janet. All eyes turned to her and Jack decided to edge his bets.  
  
"Where's -"  
  
"He's gone. For good."  
  
"Oh. I'm sorry." Sam stared at him.  
  
"No, you're not. But thankyou." She winced as she realised how that must have sounded. "I just mean, I'm not sorry so you shouldn't be." O'Neill was taken aback by that.  
  
" But I thought..."  
  
" Like I told you, it wasn't serious. It's no big deal. Really."  
  
" Even so, I was WAY out of line. I should never have asked you. I'm sorry." Carter stared into his eyes.  
  
" It takes two to tango, Sir." It was a cliché but there it was. "I'm actually getting tired. I think I'm gonna head home."  
  
" Yeah, and I'd better be getting Cassie to bed." Said Janet as she rose from her seat and put on her jacket. " Wanna share a cab, Sam?"  
  
" Sure. See you tomorrow, guys. Sir." With a curt nod both she and Janet left the bar as Jack watched the door swing shut behind them. As soon as they were gone, Jack's head hit the table and he groaned loudly.  
  
" Hey Danny, next time I do anything that stupid please shoot me will ya?" Daniel grinned.  
  
" Oh I don't think that it was stupid at all." He and Teal'c shared a glance which didn't go unnoticed by Jack.  
  
" Hold on a second, what's going on?"  
  
" Nothing, Jack. Nothing at all." Jack's suspicions were aroused now.  
  
" Oh for cryin' out loud, Daniel, what's going on?" Daniel remained silent. "Teal'c? Buddy?"  
  
" We do not believe that Pete Shanahan was a good enough partner for Major Carter." Jack snorted.  
  
" Yeah, sure! You guys are just saying that to make me feel better about screwing up her first serious relationship in years. Well it ain't working! God, I feel like such an ass!" Daniel leaned over the table closer to O'Neill.  
  
" Trust me, he wasn't what he seemed." Jack's eyebrows raised a couple of inches.  
  
" Huh? And just what the hell is that supposed to mean?" Teal'c puffed up his chest slightly and had a smug grin on his face.  
  
" What Daniel Jackson means O'Neill is that Pete Shanahan ran a background check on Major Carter the day after she told us of her involvement with him."  
  
" Yeah, so NOT such a nice guy after all, eh?" O'Neill banged his fist down on the table.  
  
" Son of a bitch!" he yelled a little too loudly and several people in the bar turned to look at him. " Why didn't anyone tell me?"  
  
" Mostly because we knew how you'd react. And because we didn't want Sam to find out." O'Neill looked shocked.  
  
" What? You mean she doesn't know?"  
  
" No she doesn't and she's not going to find out either." Daniel placed his hand firmly on top of Jack's but he yanked his away.  
  
" How DARE you? Carter has a right to know exactly what kind of guy she was dating! I sure as hell would want to know if someone did that to me! I can't believe you two. How could you, you're supposed to be her friends!" Daniel raised his voice slightly.  
  
" That's precisely WHY we didn't tell her, Jack! You saw how much that NID surveillance hurt her, she thought that we all knew and it wounded her to think that someone so close to her could do something like that. We couldn't put her through that again."  
  
" It wouldn't have been us, it was Pete!" Jack spat his name out as if it were a deadly poison. Daniel just shrugged his shoulders and leaned back into his seat.  
  
" Same result. Listen, we knew that it probably wouldn't last very long anyway and we couldn't see any reason to hurt her by telling her the truth. I mean, we'd never lie, if she asked us, we'd tell her but there was no reason to let her know."  
  
" OK, let's just say for a second that I agree with you, which, for the record, I DON'T, but even if I did, how could you know that it wasn't serious? For all you know, she could have planned to marry the guy!" Daniel smiled.  
  
" Well, Jack, I think that was highly unlikely. Firstly, she'd only know him for five minutes, secondly, he lives in Denver. She would never leave the SGC so he'd have to transfer to Colorado Springs and leave everything behind."  
  
" He's a cop, Daniel, it wouldn't have exactly been a problem!"  
  
" Yeah well, that may be but we know she'd never have married the guy anyway."  
  
" Oh, and how would *we* know that?" Daniel and Teal'c shared another look.  
  
" Well, if you can't figure that one out, you're a lot more dense than I thought you were!" Daniel took the last swig of his beer and stood up. " See you tomorrow, Jack. Teal'c, you coming?"  
  
" Indeed. Goodnight O'Neill." he said as he thumped him on the shoulder and headed out the door leaving a very confused Colonel in their wake.  
  
Jack turned back towards the table. How could he be so stupid? As if things hadn't been awkward enough lately without him stirring them up.Tomorrow morning he'd have to face Carter and he had no idea what to do. Of course, he knew she'd act like nothing happened, play the good 2IC, but he could tell she'd be silently blaming him for screwing up her life. Again. She deserved so much more and even though it felt like he'd been stabbed through the heart when she'd told him about Pete, he really did want her to be happy. He just hoped that she realised that. 


End file.
